Thanks to their victory over Loyola St James Hospital, Depiro Mtarfa have kept alive their hopes of booking a place in the MBA Shield semi-finals. Next weekend's final two matches will decide the fate of three teams, namely BUPA Luxol, Depiro and Loyola. Athleta Compleet IS made sure of top spot after having the better of Siġġiewi Kent Boringer.

Depiro Mtarfa 64
St James Hospital Loyola 56
(13-14, 17-16, 12-9, 22-17)

In a balanced and entertaining match, Depiro drew on their experience to dismiss the bold challenge of St James Hospital Loyola.

With both teams fielding their best formation, it was Loyola who enjoyed the better start but gradually, Depiro improved to close the gap to a single point by the end of the first quarter, 14-13.

Depiro remained the better side as the second session got underway, opening up a 24-18 lead. Loyola battled back to wipe out the deficit with Depiro needing a basket by Malcolm Mallia to even the score at 30-30 at half-time.

After the interval, Loyola scored the opening seven points but Depiro came through a difficult moment to start the last 10 minutes 42-39 ahead.

Hard as they tried, Loyola were let down by their inexperience as Depiro took advantage to seal victory in the final minutes.

Athleta Compleet IS 69
Siġġiewi Kent Boringer 58
(16-13, 18-12, 20-15, 15-18)

With Siġġiewi hampered by the absence of Marco Matijevic, injured, Athleta duly took advantage to dominate underneath the boards with Michael Naudi leading their charge.

Siġġiewi were dealt another setback when, towards the end of the opening session, playmaker Peter Shoults left the court after suffering an injury.

Siġġiewi had made the better start, moving 9-1 ahead after four minutes. Athleta coach Joe Galea called a time-out.

This helped Athleta to reorganise and they gradually assumed control to lead 16-13 by the end of the first session.

As Siġġiewi struggled to raise their game, Athleta continued to dictate matters to open a 30-17 lead. Substitutions bolstered Siġġiewi who shared the exchanges until half-time.

Despite their frantic efforts, Siġġiewi never gave the impression that they could get back in contention as Athleta easily administered their lead.

Standings: Athleta 6 (3-0), Siġġiewi 5 (2-1), Loyola 5 (1-3), Luxol 4 (1-2), Depiro 4 (1-2).

Next fixtures: Saturday, 16.15 Siġġiewi vs Depiro; Sunday, 16.15 Athleta vs Luxol.